A few days after I applied for a Non-QM Underwriter position, the CEO called me and I thought that was a nice personal touch. He gave me a bit of background on the company and it seemed like he did a bit of research on me from LinkedIn and my resume. From the call, he scheduled an interview with the underwriting manager and team lead. The interview was on Teams with the U/W manager and lead and they asked specific questions to identify my knowledge on particular topics. I appreciated that they vet out new underwriting hires. I thought I did well enough to be considered and I did get a job offer which I accepted. There was another offer I had pending with another company, but I chose Cake due to the following reasons: 1) Culture seemed close knit as if they do not over-hire and most employees worked in the office (tho my position is remote), 2) The CEO was hands-on in his business and was personable and relatable, 3) The underwriting manager's positive vibes and energy, 4) I wanted to work with a new challenge of loan types vs just doing only Conv and FHA.